Sunday, September 28, 2008

establishing routines

It has apparently been a week since I last posted anything.

Oops.

Can I claim "actually socializing with other law students" as an excuse?

Despite spending the better part of last year running as far away as possible from law school and everyone related to it, it appears that I interacted enough with a few people to spend time with them outside of class this year.

Allow me to introduce you to Kitty. She and I share two classes. We also share the same twisted sense of humor. Kitty is not much of a cook (she subsists largely on raw vegetables), but she does own a television.

Did I mention that that twisted sense of humor lends itself to an appreciation of House, M.D.?

So we've established a routine. Tuesday evenings, she comes to dinner at my place. After dinner, we go over to her place to watch House.

Thus far, it's turned out to be a good arrangement. Kitty's fondness for raw vegetables means that while she may not do much cooking, she can put together a tasty salad.

Which is just the thing to accompany a goat cheese and sundried tomato quiche.

As autumn settles in and makes itself comfortable, I start thinking about the products of high summer. Sundried tomatoes don't taste all that good when there are fresh, ripe tomatoes in abundance. But once the days grow shorter and the wind carries a chill, sundried tomatoes come into their own.

Sweet-salty and softly chewy, they add warmth and depth to dishes. And when sundried tomatoes are paired with goat's cheese and seasoned with lavender, it's like eating a slice of Provençal summer.

Not a bad way to start an evening with the world's most sarcastic doctor.

Goat's Cheese and Sundried Tomato Quiche

I've been buying goat's cheese from the Crystal Brook Farm stand at the Copley Square Market. It's worth tracking down if you're in Boston.

Preheat the oven to 350F. If your tart pan is false-bottomed (outer ring with an inner disc of metal, see image) set it on a cookie sheet or other large oven tray. False-bottomed pans are finicky, and if you move them wrong when the pastry is still soft, you can create cracks that will leak when you pour in the egg mixture later.

Roll out the pastry and line the tart pan. Prick the pastry lightly with a fork, cover with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Move the entire tray, pan and all, into the oven. Bake the pastry case blind until it starts to color slightly - about ten to fifteen minutes. Remove the entire tray from the oven and allow to cool.

Take a small quantity of soft goat's cheese - around three or four ounces - and crumble it into the bottom of the tart shell. Sprinkle with herbes de provence. Scatter a few sliced sundried tomatoes over the goat's cheese.

Beat three or four eggs with a little milk or cream and a sprinkling of salt until the mixture is pale yellow in color. Pour the egg mixture into the tart shell.

Carefully transfer the whole tray to the oven. Bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, or until the quiche is set and golden on top. Serve hot, with a green salad on the side.

I have been brain dead this past week and have plopped myself done on a chair to watch House for a few hours every night this week. Yes it is weird and the episodes are almost all the same just different symptoms, but I needed an escape. The quiche looks great, Adeld.

You know, I think I'm just about ready to see if I can tackle a quiche crust without turning it into something sad and inedible, and this sounds like a delicious quiche filling. I'm thinking there might be a quiche in my near future.